On House and Hoarding

Last night marked a milestone for House fans everywhere. It was their 150^th episode and the notorious doc Thirteen made a comeback. But that wasn’t all that made last night’s episode a special one. Showcasing in primetime, scripted television, a hoarder came into our midst. Just to fill you in on how House works, every episode features a unique, seemingly unsolvable case that keeps the viewer and his top notch team guessing and hashing out diagnostic agendas up until the last five minutes. Meanwhile, House is off screwing over his coworkers, popping vicodin, and dishing out unwanted advice to his few allies. But I digress. Last night, a case was brought to our attention. In true House fashion, members of his team dispatched to the patient’s home to uncover possible hidden toxins affecting their patient. However, this time, their house call discovered much more: a house full of, shall I say, artifacts, and a woman, the patient's wife, cowering beneath a heap of blue tarp. The episode continues and each team member has his and her chance to try and understand why the wife chose to hoard. While most members chose to dismiss it and pass it along to their local psychiatric unit, Masters decided to treat the home as an archaeological dig. In the end, the young med student literally digs to the core of the woman’s problem that stems from multiple miscarriages and her need to fill that emotional void with “stuff.” Read a full recap of the episode here. What do you think? Does hoarding stem from a deeper, psychological issue? Do you think the entertainment business has exploited the self storage industry? Sound off with your comments below!